AMES — The Jimmy Rogers era at Iowa State began with a convincing victory Saturday as the Cyclones overwhelmed Southeast Missouri, 38-10, in the 2026 season opener at Jack Trice Stadium.
After a 30-minute lightning delay, Iowa State jumped ahead 14-0 in the first quarter, carried a 28-7 advantage into halftime and never allowed the Redhawks to seriously threaten again. A crowd of 51,802 watched Iowa State open its 135th season of football with a win and improve to 1-0.
The victory also gave Rogers a successful debut as Iowa State’s 34th head coach. He became the 22nd Cyclone coach to win his first game at the school and improved his career head-coaching record to 34-9. Thirty Cyclones made their Iowa State debuts Saturday and 19 made their first Iowa State starts.
As NorthIowaToday.com previewed ahead of the opener, Rogers entered the season with a dramatically rebuilt roster featuring 83 newcomers and a new starting quarterback.
That quarterback, Jaylen Raynor, quickly made himself at home.
Raynor completed 8 of 16 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns without an interception while adding 32 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. It marked his third career game with multiple passing and rushing touchdowns, and he earned his 21st victory as a starting college quarterback.
After Iowa State’s first possession ended in a punt, Raynor connected with Dominic Overby for 45 yards to move the Cyclones deep into Redhawk territory. Three plays later, Raynor ran seven yards for the game’s first touchdown and a 7-0 advantage.
Iowa State’s special teams helped create the next score. Aiden Flora returned a Southeast Missouri punt 36 yards to the Redhawks’ 24-yard line, and two plays later Raynor found tight end Vince Benetti for a 24-yard touchdown. It was Benetti’s first career reception and first career touchdown, giving the Cyclones a 14-0 lead.
Southeast Missouri finally answered with a lengthy 75-yard drive that ended on Chance Wilson’s seven-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, cutting the Iowa State advantage to 14-7.
The Cyclones responded decisively.
Flora broke loose for an 11-yard touchdown run with 4:54 remaining before halftime, making it 21-7. Two plays into Southeast Missouri’s next possession, Beni Ngoyi made a one-handed interception — the first pick of his career — and handed Iowa State another opportunity.
Raynor promptly connected with Omari Hayes for 34 yards before Easton Miller caught a 10-yard touchdown pass. It was Miller’s first career reception and first career touchdown, and Iowa State took a commanding 28-7 lead into halftime.
The Cyclones did not need long, grinding possessions to do their damage. Iowa State’s first four scoring drives each lasted less than two minutes.
Kyle Konrardy added a 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 31-7. Southeast Missouri answered with Justin Keller’s 40-yard field goal early in the fourth, but Raynor closed Iowa State’s scoring with another seven-yard touchdown run, capping a 75-yard drive and producing the 38-10 final margin.
While Raynor supplied four touchdowns, Iowa State’s revamped defense created problems throughout the afternoon.
The Cyclones recorded six sacks — their most in a game since 2020 — and piled up 12 tackles for loss. Southeast Missouri was held to 209 yards of total offense and just 67 rushing yards on 45 attempts. Iowa State also forced three turnovers, including Ngoyi’s interception and two recovered fumbles.
Isaac Terrell was the centerpiece of the pass rush in his Iowa State debut, recording three sacks and forcing a fumble. His three sacks tied for the third-most in a single game by a Cyclone, and he became the first Iowa State player since Rashawn Parker in 2006 to record multiple sacks in his Cyclone debut.
Sullivan Schlimgen led Iowa State with nine tackles and added a sack, while Carson Willich recorded seven tackles and two tackles for loss. Beau Goodwin recovered his first career fumble and Drew Surges forced another.
Offensively, Flora led Iowa State on the ground with 45 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Overby led all Cyclone receivers with 85 yards on two receptions, including a career-long 45-yard catch. Omari Hayes added 54 receiving yards on two catches.
Iowa State finished with 303 yards of offense despite possessing the football for only 23:08. The Cyclones averaged 6.3 yards per play, scored on all five trips into the red zone and turned Southeast Missouri’s turnovers into 10 points.
The competition gets considerably tougher next.
Iowa State travels to Iowa City on Saturday, September 12, for the annual Cy-Hawk showdown against Iowa. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with the game televised nationally on NBC.